Kwankwaso expected back in PDP, to break Buhari’s hold on Kano

In the aftermath of the National convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja penultimate week, former governor of Kano State, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is expected to announce his return to the party soon.

Feelers from Kano indicate that Kwankwaso would return to the PDP and also join in the 2019 race for the presidential ticket of the party.

Kwankwaso, a formidable political force in Kano, leads the Kwankwasiyya Movement, which has large following and has many elected officials from the state in its fold.

According to our source, Kwankwaso will lead an exodus from the Kano state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) back to the PDP.

Sources close to the PDP said the expected move would be a strategic step for the party towards breaking the bloc vote recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari in the state in 2015.

The source said PDP is eagerly awaiting the return.

“We are eagerly awaiting his return and when it happens, we would have successfully broken into the votes APC got from the state in 2015.

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“Don’t forget that he has always been one of us but mistakes of the past caused problems. Now, those mistakes are being corrected and I can assure you that he will soon rejoin us”, the source told Ripples Nigeria.

Kwankwaso was one of five governors who exited PDP alongside former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in 2015 leading to an exodus that has been attributed to be one of the reasons PDP lost power in 2015.

With his movement into the APC, Kwankwaso mobilized Kano for the part leading to the party recording more than 2 million votes in the presidential election.

However, there have been cracks in his relationship with his successor, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, who was his deputy in his first and second outing as governor.

Many residents of Kano also blame the alleged lackluster performance of Gov. Ganduje on his failure to create a working synergy with Kwankwaso. Many still miss the Kwankwaso touch to governance in Kano.

On the other hand, Kwankwaso’s romance with the APC has also not been rosy as he is said to be sidelined alongside Atiku.

Kwankwaso had expected to be one of the leaders of the party but poor leadership structure of the party and lack of internal democracy, had sidelined him and the others that moved from PDP.

Also, his noticeable absence from activities that marked President Buhari’s two-day visit to the state recently was seen by his associates as a demonstration of his growing disenchantment with the party.

A member of the red-cap-wearing Kwankwasiyya movement, Umaru Abdullahi, told Ripples Nigeria that APC in Kano had taken steps to humiliate their leader, Kwankwaso, and warned that the party will be made to pay for it.

“They (APC) think they can humiliate Kwankwaso so easily despite what he did for them in 2015. But let us wait. 2019 is approaching”, he said.

By Femi Qudus….

 

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